Beat English

Beat combines competent hardware and software tests with dedicated reviews as well as reports and interviews from musicians and the music business. We will report on music production with the latest synthesizers and computers, introduce new trends in recording, and always have our finger on the pulse with up-to-date reports. Many well-known specialist report on the widespread music production solutions and experienced editors take care of the most important entertainment and scene topics. This magazine is a platform for musicians and contains a regular demo and MP3 section for readers as well as a download with high-quality sample and music files for creative musicians.

SOFTWARE HIGHLIGHTS

Navigator: Best of Beat #203

Magazine

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FASTER FROM THE IDEA TO THE TRACK THIS IS HOW AI HELPS YOU PRODUCE • Music and artificial intelligence - do they go together? Tools that help musicians with more or less clever algorithms have existed for a long time. But what if the AI creates its own melodies, takes over the mastering and even designs the cover artwork? Technically, this is possible, although it cannot replace a creative artist. It should rather be seen as a jump-start when inspiration takes a break. What the AI can and can‘t do, how to find the best software for you and how to have more fun producing in the end, we‘ll show you in the big special!

How AI brings more time & fun • Loved by some, hated by others: Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword. It‘s actually great when idle tasks and time-wasters are taken over by an automaton. On the other hand, music is such a creative process with human results that a machine as the author seems downright absurd. That‘s why we‘ve divided the development of a production from the idea to the release into four sections and show you how the AI can help you in each case. Pick a problem area, use the tools provided and stay in the flow. In the end, you‘ll have more time to enjoy the sound!

Jump start for inspiration • It doesn‘t make sense to have a track completely designed by algorithms, no matter how clever they are. But if you‘re feeling creative or running out of time, there are tools that can help you get started, so that the flow doesn‘t stop right at the beginning. The tools for phase 1 shown on the following pages will help you find sounds and chord progressions, create grooves, and also help you with vocals.

Just let your computer sing • With the Alter/Ego plug-in in the magazine downloads, you can create interesting vocoder and robot songs and artificial-sounding voices without much effort. With the voice synthesis software, you can simply enter the text to be sung. We‘ll show you how to use the plug-in to create distinctive vocal phrases for your tracks.

Finally! From loop to track • The well-known problem: The beat is there, an idea has been found, maybe even the hook for the whole song. But anything beyond the infamous 8-bar loop just won‘t work. No wonder, arranging is usually the hardest work and unfortunately also the one that can ruin an idea if you spend too much time on it. That‘s why in Phase 2 we‘ll show you some clever tools that will help you turn a loop into a basic framework for a whole track faster. There‘s still work to be done afterwards, but the uncreative part of moving clips and blocks is significantly reduced. Ergo: There is more time for the fun of producing!

Make your mix bang • The AI can take over unpleasant tasks and help out here and there with know-how. After all, not everyone has to be able to do everything. Mixdown and mastering in particular can be hurdles when you‘re at war with compressors, EQs and limiters. That‘s where helpers which promise the „ultimate mix“ and „unlimited pressure“ come in handy, don’t they? Yes, but the crux of the matter is that if an algorithm takes over something because...